The announcement of Bell’s departure appears rather sudden, but we’ve talked about her impending exit here for weeks…and have already passed along word that “Fox 8 News in the Morning”‘s Tracy McCool has been the odds on “in house” favorite to move to the evening co-anchor chair alongside Martin.

We heard nothing of outside candidates…something we have heard about the opening left by Gannett NBC affiliate WKYC/3 evening anchor Romona Robinson, who exits on Friday. (Could one of the candidates in the Replace Romona Sweepstakes have top 5 market background?)

And we saw McCool “filling in” alongside Martin, after Stacey Bell had already gone to New Jersey. We were impressed…and didn’t frankly know if her evening stint had already started.

Who replaces McCool on “Fox 8 News In The Morning”? The Beacon Journal/Ohio.com’s Heldenfels has one thought:

No word on what will happen on the station’s morning show, although Kristi Capel may add it to her duties.